What is an Average Accountant Salary in the USA?

Are you thinking of an average accountant salary in the USA? This guide will provide you all the information you should know related to salary of different professionals in the accounting arena.

An accountant is a professional who maintains and examines financial records.

They’re mathematicians with a knack for organization and meticulous work. Accountants must have a high degree of reliability since they handle money – often large quantities of it.

But what about Accounting Salary? How much can an accountant earn in the United States?

In the U.S, an accountant’s average annual income is roughly $60,905. Salaries typically range from $37,862 to $97,971 per year.

More than 1.3 million accountants were employed in the United States in 2020, with most of them working in metropolitan centres or near local trade and economic clusters.

Because accounting smooths the way for everything involving money or audits, accountants can be found working for or contracting with any organization— government agencies, major enterprises, large accounting consultancies, small businesses, non-profits, and so on.

How do Experience and Age Affect your Pay?

An essential criterion in deciding a wage is the amount of experience.

Undoubtedly, the more years of expertise you have, the more money you will earn. An accountant with less than 2 years of experience earns around $39,000 per year.

Somebody with 2 to 5 years of experience can expect to make 52,200 USD per year, which is 32% more than those with less than two years of experience.

Following ahead, individuals with 5 to 10 years of experience earn 69,800 USD per year, which is 34% more than somebody with 2 to 5 years of experience.

Furthermore, Accountant with 10 to 15 years of knowledge earn a salary of 83,200 USD a year, which is 19% higher than somebody with five to ten years of experience.

If you have 15 to 20 years of experience, you can expect to earn 89,800 USD per year, which is 8% higher than accountants with 10 to 15 years of experience.

Finally, individuals with more than 20 years of work experience earn 96,300 USD per year, which is 7% higher.

Different Accounting Jobs and Salary

Here are some of the most common accounting jobs –

• Accounting Clerk
• Forensic Accountant
• Budget Analyst
• Comptroller/Financial Controller
• Tax Accountant
• Financial Analyst
• Capital Accountant

Let us now discuss each job role along with salary.

1. Accounting Clerk and Salary

Accounting and auditing clerks are vital to the smooth operation of the finances and payments departments.

These specialists frequently collaborate with senior auditors and accountants to ensure financial papers, records, and financial records.

Auditing and accounting clerks also handle invoices, costs, salaries, and other economic transactions on a daily basis.

No matter what business an auditing and accounting clerk decides to work in, a fundamental job description applies to all of them. The most significant skill that accounting clerks can have been a basic comprehension of accounting standards.

Duties

• Estimating and recording expenses is a time-consuming process.
• Financial reports are generated from company databases.
• Maintaining and updating financial records.
• Keeping track of financial documents, accounts, and account balances.

Salary

Accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping clerks made a median annual pay of $42,410 in 2020, with the top ten percent earning more than $63,900.

2. Forensic Accountant and Salary

Litigation support and investigative accounting are the two primary elements of forensic accounting.

They can be involved with one or both of these areas, depending on their experience and training.

Forensic accountants provide litigation support by serving as expert testimony or accounting advisors for the involved parties in a case.

Assessing financial damages or appraising companies or assets are everyday tasks in litigation assistance. In litigation, both parties may hire forensic accountants to appear as forensic expert’s witnesses.

Duties

• Examining documentation in order to assess the case and pinpoint areas of financial loss.
• Assisting with negotiations and agreements.
• Collecting the evidence required to prove or disprove a claim.
• Before and during a trial, assisting the lawyer in framing questions in the adequate investment context.

Salary

Salary for forensic accountants is determined by experience, with great potential for growth in the first five years.

• Entry Level (0-12 Months): $57,000
• Early Career (1-4 Years): $62,000
• Mid-Career (5-9 Years): $80,000
• Experienced (10-19 Years): $87,000

3. Budget Analyst and Salary

In a for-profit business, the major role of budget analysts is to examine the budgeting and figure out ways to use resources efficiently in order to enhance earnings.

They discover budget difficulties that need to be handled, monitoring, and then give financial strategy recommendations.

For an entry-level budget analyst, creating and publishing journal entries, balancing the ledger accounts account, and completing end-of-month accounts are everyday activities.

Duties

• Examine and interpret financial records.
• Monitor disbursements (such as payments to suppliers) and look into difficulties to find out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
• For briefings and other presentations, assist in presenting financial facts, progress, and performance metrics information.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly metrics reports, internal management reports, and regulatory reports for external agencies.

Salary

Budget analysts’ earnings potential varies depending on criteria such as their sector, region, and education level. Budget analysts made a median salary pay of $78,970, with the top ten percent earning more than $121,360.

4. Comptroller/Financial Controller and Salary

In a private corporation or a publicly traded company, the financial manager is known as the financial controller.

The term “financial control officer” (FCO) is used to describe an administrative job that functions similarly to that of a financial controller.

The term “comptroller” is more generally used to refer to these government posts. Treasurer and finance director are two more job titles that financial controllers commonly hold.

Duties

• Debit/credit monitoring
• Financial software selection and upkeep.
• Payroll and accounts receivable and payments are under my supervision.
• Developing and implementing financial reporting systems regularly.
• Auditing and accounting compliance activities are completed.

Salary

The median Financial Controller pay in the U.S is $223,600, with an accounting salary range of $188,700 to $263,300. Figures rely on a variety of things, like education, qualifications, supplementary talents, and the number of years spent in this field.

5. Tax Accountant and Salary

Tax accountants are familiar with tax reporting laws and generate tax records for both people and enterprises, but this does not reflect the depth of their services.

Tax accounting is a specialty area that involves solutions ranging from small individual tax return preparation to extremely complex tax planning for large organizations.

Tax accountants can choose to work for corporations or solely for high-income individuals, focusing on the more complicated tax concerns such as trusts, huge estates, and tax shelters.

Duties

• Selecting a tax entity and ownership type in a foreign jurisdiction, as well as tax registration.
• Establishing a foreign corporation that owns a U.S. firm.
• For cross-border transactions, tax planning is essential.
• Tax solutions for foreign nationals and expatriates.
• Preparing for foreign tax credits.

Salary

The accounting salary of a tax accountant is determined in part by how long they have worked in the field. Accountants with greater experience can manage more obstacles, making their work talents more valued.

• Entry Level (0-12 Months): $51,000
• Early Career (1-4 Years): $55,000
• Mid-Career (5-9 Years): $63,000
• Experienced (10-19 Years): $64,000

6. Financial Analyst and Salary

Financial analysts monitor industry and market trends to evaluate investment performance by comparing data to estimate future results.

They are financial market experts who assess investment choices and prepare reports for upper-level management to utilize in making prudent investment choices.

Duties

• Budget, cost, and credit analysts
• Rating analysts
• Risk analysts

Salary

Financial analysts made an average base pay of $83,660.

Financial experts frequently receive big bonuses, stock options, and other performance bonuses based on their individual success and the company’s earnings.

7. Capital Accountant and Salary

The majority of capital accountants work for large organizations, but some also work for consultancy firms, mid-sized businesses, and even government agencies.

Those maintained by large organizations are an important aspect of the business since they have a significant influence on the profitability reporting of the company.

Duties

• Conducting periodic audits, labelling assets for monitoring purposes, and assigning suitable acquisition values are all part of the capital asset program administration.
• Considering the feasibility and profitability of prospective capital expenditures.
• Budgeting for capital expenditures on an annual basis.
• Depreciation schedules are managed consistently.

Salary

Even though capital accounting is a specialized field, ordinary corporate accountants frequently classify it as such. Enterprise management accountants earn a median of $82,770 per year.

Wrapping it up…

So, this was all about average accountant salary in the United States. If you are a fresher and thinking about pursuing Accounting as a career, knowing all its details and job prospects is important.

It is essential to know that this employment requires a bachelor’s degree in accounting as well as certification as a certified public accountant (CPA).

In most cases, prior accounting expertise is necessary or recommended. It is essential to be familiar with accounting software such as QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel.

Furthermore, because many of the accountant’s activities are completed individually, the accountant must be self-motivated; nonetheless, teamwork is required, and they must be able to work as part of a team.